Matthew Dellavedova (born 8 September 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. He played college for Saint Mary's College of California and represents Australia internationally. Dellavedova is number 8 and plays at point guard/shooting guard.

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Early Life

Born and raised in Maryborough, Victoria, Dellavedova is one of three children and is a sixth-generation Italian Australian. His father, Mark, grew up playing Australian Rules Football and his mother Leanne, played netball. Dellavedova began playing basketball at age four. He attended Maryborough Regional College and played junior basketball for Maryborough Blazers and Bendigo Braves. Throughout his teenage years he was selected for several Victorian state representative sides and played alongside future Collingwood Magpies captain Scott Pendlebury. In 2007 he moved to Canberra to attend the Australian Institute of Sport where he spent three years playing in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). Both of Dellavedova's sisters play basketball as well, with younger sister Yana playing at the college level for Long Beach State University.

College Career

Dellavedova was recruited by Saint Mary's College of California in 2009 and signed with the Gaels before the 2009-10 season. He was ranked one of the top junior athletes in Australia, ESPN rated Dellavedova as the #73 Shooting Guard recruit. Dellavedova instantly contributed to the Gaels and started each of the first fifteen games of the season. In 2009-10, he averaged 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Dellavedova finished his college career as Saint Mary's all-time leader in scoring, assists, games played, free throw percentage and three-point shots.

Professional Career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2013-present)

2013-14 Season

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Dellavedova joined the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On 12 September 2013, he signed a two-year, $1.3 million contract with the Cavaliers. On 26 March 2014, he had a season-best game with 21 points and 6 assists in a 97-96 win over the Detroit Pistons.

2014-15 Season

In July 2014, Dellavedova re-joined the Cavaliers for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On 9 November 2014, he was ruled out for 4–6 weeks with a sprained left knee (MCL) that he sustained in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's loss in Portland on 4 November. On 8 December 2014, he returned from injury to face the Brooklyn Nets, recording 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block in a 110-88 win. On 11 February 2015, Dellavedova was selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge as part of the 2015 NBA All-Star weekend. On 14 May 2015, Dellavedova scored a team-high 19 points to help the Cavaliers defeat the Chicago Bulls and advance to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2009. Following the Cavaliers' Game 3 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Eastern Conference Finals, Dellavedova's aggressive play became a major talking point with some describing him as a "dirty" player. Despite this criticism, teammate LeBron James and NBA great Charles Barkley both defended Dellavedova's play style. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Dellavedova scored a playoff career-high 20 points in the absence of the injured Kyrie Irving as the Cavaliers defeated the Warriors to take a 2–1 series lead. The Cavaliers went on to lose the last three games of the series as Dellavedova shot just 19% from the field in those three games.

2015-16 Season

This is big season, Dellavedova pushed up his skill. In the NBA Finals 2016, he shut down Stephen Curry too much, then help his team won the title.

2016-17 Season

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International Career

Dellavedova competed for the Australian junior national team at the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He was the team's third leading scorer – averaging 10.1 points per game – for the fourth-place Australians. He was named in the Australian senior national team, the Boomers, to compete for the first time at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship. At age 19, he was the youngest Australian player at the competition. He went on to compete for the Boomers at the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 World Cup in Spain.